Improvement in fountain-pens



UNITED l STATES PATENT QEEICE,

SMITH A. SKINNER, OF WEST BEKSHIRE, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOU NTAlN-PENS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 30,935, dated December 1S, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SMITH A. SKINNEE, of Vest Berkshire, in the county of Franklin and State of Vermont, have invented an lmproved Fountain-Pen Holder; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a top View, Fig. 2 a side elevation, and Fig. 3 a longitudinal section, of it.

In such drawings, A denotes the pen-handle constructed tubular and with a reservoir dl [or holding the ink. The upper end ot' the said reservoir is closed,`with the exception of a small hole b made through it near its edge and for the purpose of an air-inlet and to'open a communication between the reservoir ct, and an ink-retaining or saving-chamber c, arranged with reference to the reservoir a and covered by a screw-cap d, as shown in the drawings. The chamber c constitutes a receptacle to intercept any ink which may flow out of the air-hole h when the pen-handle may be in a horizontal position, such ink being caused to return into the fountain or reservoir whenever the handle A may be elevated into a vertical or nearly vertical position.

B is the pen-carrier, which is a socketed spring formed of vulcanized india-rubber, or any other suitable material, and attached to the fountain, so as to lie alongside of the lower part or branch c thereof. The said part B receives and carries the writing-pen C and supports a conical valve f, thatis made to project from it at a right angle or thereaboutv and through a hole g, forned through the upper side of the part c, hereinbefore described. The said hole g is a valve-seat and opening for the valve j', which is extended through the hole and against along spring 7L, which I term the agitator, it being'arranged within the branch part c of the ink-fountain in such manner as to be moved by the valve during the movementsof the latter. The purpose of the spring h is to agitato or stir the ink in order to prevent the same from depositing sediment within the branch e, or in case any sediment may have been so deposited the agitator, when pnt in movement will serve to agitate or remix the sediment with the liquid or ink. The branch e terminates in a spoon or spout t', that is extended toward the pen C, as shown in the drawings. t9 conduct the ink to the pen and is furnished with a corrugated tongue 7o, which projects from the branch e. The said tongue is corrugated transversely, and near where it is joined tothe part cit is formed with a hole or passage Z, thev same being 1n order to allow the ink that may pass out of the valve-opening g to .flow into the spoon I1T. By corrugating the tongue (a top view of it being represented in Fig. 4) vit is enabled to retain the ink to better advantage in the spoont' or pre- Y vent it from too freely iiowing out of the same than would be the case 'were the said tongue 7c not corrugated. A ring m is slipped over or made to embrace the two parts B e. By lnoving this ring either toward or awayfrom the pen C the elasticity of the spring B will be either increased or diminished,or the said part- Bwill be rendered more or less stiff in action in order toaccommodate it to the pressure which may be exerted on the pen either for fine or heavy writing. lVhile writing with the said pen the valve f will be open or vput in motion more or less during each heavy downward stroke of the pen, and thus the 4 tlowage of the ink out of the reservoir a of the handle will be produced by the act of writi ing with the pen.

From the above it will be seen that the valve f is entirely separate from the agitator It and is affixed to and combined with a spring or elastic pen-carrier B, which is so placed alongside of and over the branch c as to cause the said valve and branch to be against or directly under the concave or inner side of the pen. The advantage of this arrangement with respect to ono wherein the valveis attached to or extended directly from the agitator and against the upper or convex surface of thepen is that in the latter' the closing of the valve is dependent on the correct action of the agitator, whereas in my improvement such is notthe case, as the valve is worked by the spring pen-carrier, which is entirely outside of and separate from the branch e, and not liable to have its correct action impaired, as is the case with that of the agitator, by deposits of solid matters, which may be made within the branch. Furthermore, my improvement causes the ink to be applied di- The spoon serves reeiiy to the inner surface of thepen instead oi' againsiJ its outer surface.

I do not claim the Combination of a spring' or agitator with the pen or its Carrier and the ink-fountain provided With a Valve-opening to receive a branch or valve extended from the agitator; nor do I claim so arranging the agitator with respectto the peu that the valve of the former shall rest against the convex side or back of the pen.

I claiml. The combination and arrangement of a valve f, separate from the agitator 7L, with a spring pen-carrier B, arranged with respect to the agitator 71, and the branch e, provided with a valve-opening and extended from the ink-fountain, as described.

2. The im proved mode of makin;r lche springtongue 71;, Viz., with eorrugatons, the same bei ing for the purpose described.

- SMITH A. SKINNER.

Witnesses:

GEO. E. ELLSWORTH,

EBENEZER WELD. 

